


The Telepathy Between Hearts

by Puppyrules



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-02-14 12:43:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13008024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puppyrules/pseuds/Puppyrules
Summary: In a world where people are two halves of the same whole, when both parties turn 18 they are gifted with the ability to communicate with one another inside their heads, a phenomenon known as telepathy. Two weeks before her 18th birthday, Mal anxiously awaits the day to hear Ben's voice





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Everyone!! 
> 
> Hopefully you're fond of a soulmate story every now and again, personally I am a sucker for them, and so hopefully you also enjoy my interpretation and my story. This is going to hopefully not be too long and probably broken down into 3-5 parts. I understand that the best stories exceed that but I'm not the greatest writer and have little patience. 
> 
> I'd like to make a little shout-out to whoever created this prompt but unfortunately I have absolutely no idea who did, so thanks anonymous person and enjoy. Anyways, feel free to give me feedback in the comments below!

She sat on her bed in a pool of loose papers and coloured pencils, staring blankly at the array before her. This wasn’t a normal situation for Mal, the darling fae daughter of Maleficent, to find herself in. Her straightened lilac coloured hair hung low, shielding her face from intruders to her and Evie’s dorm. For Mal, it was a relief. It shielded all of those from identifying both her puffy cheeks and redness as evidence of tears. 

It was safe to say that she was nervous. Mal couldn’t believe it, the whole ordeal sounded as if it were created by the historic sorcerers who vowed to maintain order and control over their respective societies. For Auradon, the Isle and all the tiny towns in between, each person had a soulmate. Someone who was designed specifically for themselves and supposedly had the traits that aided in balancing someone out. What makes the whole situation worse is that when both people reach the milestone that is 18, they are each gifted with the ability to communicate telepathically. 

Mal remained situated on her bed in complete and utter turmoil, her mind racing with worries, anxious thoughts and fear. To begin with, her current boyfriend Ben has already turned 18, and to her much needed relief, has not heard any other voices in his head. However Mal was still only 17, and with a birthday that wasn’t too far away she anticipated the morning to discover if her and Ben shared the soulmate connection. 

Mal heard the buzzing of her phone pulling her out of her anxious loop. She flipped it over to see a message from Evie. 

'Call me M. I’m worried about you.' 

It was true, for some reason Mal had been avoiding those she considered closest to her. She had dismissed them simply because they wouldn’t understand. Jay was already 18 and still hadn’t heard any signs of a voice in his head, so he played with all the girls he could until he heard one. He was a lovely boy, unfortunately the attention got to his head and he relished the love he received from his ‘adoring fans’. Both Evie and Doug were 17 as well, and so they hadn’t really bothered to care, they were young and in love and according to Doug’s cousins they were indeed “a match made in heaven”. 

And then there was sweet, innocent little Carlos who had only just turned 17 a month ago. He has plenty of time to cherish Jane and make her feel like the only girl that matters. He’s even luckier because Jane is only 16 which means that he has even more time to patiently wait for the voice in his head to be Jane. Now if Mal was certain that anyone was going to have found their match straight off the bat it would have been Carlos. Jay says he’s lucky, or at least talented enough to detect the little ticks in people and then makes it his personal mission to resolve whatever was bothering them. 

There have been countless times where Carlos was one of the first people to just know about what had been bothering Mal, and even Evie and Jay. There was this one time where Mal had been furious about how her Mother had destroyed the drawing kit that she had gotten for her birthday of the VK gang, she was heartbroken as it had been one of the few possessions that she cherished. Mal had escaped the house in a rage, heading towards the VK hideout. Tears threatened to escape her eyes, but she was determined to escape the eyes of those on the Isle before bursting into tears.  
She had slammed open the door and fell into her makeshift bed allowing her disappointment and anger to consume her. She hadn’t realized that she wasn’t alone, until Carlos had tapped her on the shoulder and proceeded to snuggle into her side, giving her the much needed affection and sympathy. 

Mal doesn’t remember too much after that. She remembers hearing the gentle hooting of an owl and discovering that she was alone in the VK hideout. She has no idea when Carlos left, but it remains one of the most joyous memories she shares with him. She had proceeded to get up and return to the prison cell that she calls her home but was stopped by the notepad and crappy pencils that were situated on the bottom corner of her bed. 

She doesn’t know how someone so loving could come from a woman like Cruella de Ville, just seeing Carlos and his big heart, Mal was glad that the four of them had been blessed with this opportunity to move to Auradon and escape the wickedness that littered the streets of the Isle. Carlos just had such a big heart and an amazing sense of empathy, if he was sent back just because Mal and Ben didn’t share the soulmate connection… Mal would honestly wreak havoc on the simple school. They’re just so-

Mal was stopped in her thought process as Evie had opened the door. 

“Why haven’t you called me M? I’ve been worried sick about you” She continued to come towards the bed before sitting next to Mal and caressing her hair gently.  
“I know you’re going through a lot right now but you have to know that I am here for you. We aren’t best friends for no reason Mal. We’ve shared so many ups and downs together I don’t think you should cast me away this easily. So tell me what’s going on, alright.” Evie continued to pass her hand through Mal’s hair and remained at her side hugging her close to her chest.

Mal let herself sob into Evie’s arms, still wondering whether or not she should reveal the whole truth. 

“Evie.” Mal paused. “What if Ben and I aren’t soulmates? What if I wake up on my birthday and I don’t hear him in my head, what if I never see his dreams?” She calmed the sobs that wracked her body enough to confide in Evie. 

It was at that moment that she felt Evie take a deep breath inwards. Mal had a tiny glimmer of hope that Evie would just know, or at least she would lie to make her feel better. She waited for Evie to conjure up a beautiful lie and prayed that the butterflies racing around her stomach would settle. 

“M, if I’m being honest, I don’t know who your soulmate is, but I don’t think that should stop you from exploring your heart. It doesn’t have to be definitive, look at all of our parents, none of them are with their soulmates, even Jane’s mum, the Fairy Godmother, she doesn’t have a soulmate and look at Jane. A beautiful girl created through love and affection. You can do the same, I’m certain.” 

Her explanation had calmed Mal just a little bit, Evie was unaware of the completely other side of the story. What she didn’t know was that Ben’s entire family, and those in line for the throne had all married their respective soulmates. Why would they bend the rules again? Ben had told her that one of his intentions to unlock the barrier was to prevent good Auradon people from moving to such a horrible place like the Isle just to be with their partner.  
Mal could understand that, but what if he had made the wrong decision assuming her to be is soulmate. Why would they both take that risk? To top it off they’re already engaged, to be engaged to then marry, how would his parents feel if she had to terminate their whole arrangement just because they aren’t aligned with the stars? 

Mal continued to cry into Evie’s side and permitted herself to drift off to sleep. She had two weeks until the day she turned 18, two short weeks until she discovered whether or not Ben was the one. Mal had felt the bed sink down on her side signalling that Evie had gotten up, she heard the click of the light switch go off and once again felt the presence of Evie return to her bed. Evie placed her arms around Mal and the two drifted off to sleep, preparing once more to count down the days until Mal’s birthday.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow!! I didn't expect any of these likes or comments but thank you!! Now I have had a lot of time recently and have somehow managed to conjure up another chapter, but usually I'm not this fast. Either way enjoy!

Mal cracked open her eyes and glanced at the clock on her phone. 11:59PM, just beneath that it had said the 11th of January. Mal couldn’t believe she had fallen asleep for practically 2 weeks. Why hadn’t anyone bothered to wake her? 

She was about to face the moment she had been dreading. She watched her phone tick over to reach 12:00 signalling midnight and the beginning of her birthday. She paused and tried to stay silent. She hadn’t heard anything. No whisper of a voice, no images of a dream. Nothing. 

That was it, Mal had discovered that Ben wasn’t her soulmate ad that she had absolutely no purpose for remaining on Auradon. She knew that it would be less than 24 hours before Evie, Jay and Carlos were all shipped back to the Isle because of Mal’s stupid soulmate connection. 

She raced up from her bed and sprinted down to Ben’s quarters. Who cares about the dormitory rules, the Fairy Godmother can stick it, according to Mal. The future of her friends was in danger and she wasn’t going to let any one of those royal officials banish them back to their horrid upbringings. She wasn’t going to let Queen Belle or King Adam influence Ben’s decisions. 

Mal had now arrived to the glistening gold doors adorned with the crest of the Beast Family. Ben was sure to be here, Mal was certain of that. She took a deep breath in and pushed open the door. The place was pitch black and apart from the glimmer of light that shone through the bottom of the door, Mal couldn’t see anything. 

“In the blackness of the night,  
lead the way and show some light” 

This simple light spell ignited a small beam on her index finger. She gently walked across the floor and examined the doors before her. Unfortunately she hadn’t been allowed to enter Ben’s quarters as the rules of the school insisted that they remain apart until – of course – their wedding night. Out of the three doors that remained closed, Mal had to be cautious, she didn’t want to stir either King Adam or Queen Belle and reveal her true intentions.

She approached the door on the furthest left, and gently twisted the golden knob. As she pushed open the door, with her index finger lighting the way, she turned and came face-to-face with the Beast himself. 

His hair was dishevelled and his eyes swelled, he took a single glance at Mal and roared. This startled Queen Belle, who immediately grabbed her night gown and found her place beside her protector. 

“Mal? What are you doing here at this hour?” Belle scolded. “Shouldn’t you be in your dorm?” She searched her Mal’s face for an explanation. 

Mal’s face ran cold, her paleness having somehow gotten whiter. She couldn’t find her words, she struggled to even say sorry. Her throat felt as though it was clasping her last breath and she struggled to even gasp. She tried to make the number 18 with her fingers and pointed to herself to aid her translation. 

“Is it your birthday Mal?” King Adam looked at her in confusion. “Is Ben your soulmate?” The plea in his eyes prevented Mal from shaking her head instantly. Not only would she be disappointing Ben, but his parents as well as her own small group of friends. This was going to be disastrous either way. 

She proceeded to gently shake her head, from left to right, still holding the breath that never came. She watched both their faces sink slowly as their eyebrows became furrowed and their concern for the future of their kingdom set in. King Adam turned to face his wife, who in turn shared the deep questioning stare between them. 

At that moment Mal could guarantee that they were soulmates, just watching their interaction, without the need for spoken words was enough evidence to prove that this phenomenon was real. The air was still tense, and the Beast couple continued to stare at Mal disapprovingly. They edged closer towards her, their arms extended. Mal was frozen. Her ability to even scream was gone, just like her ability to breathe. King Adam’s hands clasped themselves around her neck and tightened. 

-

Mal woke up screaming, her heart was pounding, and her face was already wet from the sweat of her nightmare. She gently reach up to touch her neck and feel the imprints of King Adam’s claws. She didn’t find any indents, only the necklace that Ben had gifted to her for their 1 year anniversary. It had constricted itself around her neck. 

With all of Mal’s jostling and movement, Evie stirred. 

“M? What time is it? Are you alright?” She reached out to tentatively comfort Mal. Instead of responding Mal just curled into her side and prepared for hopefully a wonderful night’s sleep. Her birthday was two weeks away, all Mal could think of was how could she be so worried about something so simple. She had faced her own mother, merciless to her power. On the Isle it had only been orders after orders after punishment. Why was she afraid? 

She knew why she was afraid, she just didn’t understand why it had bothered her so much. The people of Auradon are compassionate, they wouldn’t try to murder an innocent girl who had nothing to do with the alignment of the stars, could they? Could they banish that same unknowing girl straight back to the prison cell of hell? 

Beside her, Mal could feel the gentle breathing of Evie, how envious she was of her not worried attitude. It was someone like her that Mal grew dependable on. She was always there to provide the shoulder to cry on. She was always willing to lend a helping hand when Mal was down. She was the perfect best friend. Why had she been pushing her away? Evie would know exactly what to say to her, she would tell her to consult Ben and decide what would be the best cause of action. 

That was it. Mal was going to do exactly that – call a professional meeting with Ben and establish whatever means would be most beneficial for both parties. But would this mean that Ben would assume that Mal doubted their love for one another? Mal just needed a machine that could turn her brain off. She’d tried spells and potions but nothing worked for the mechanics of her brain. 

She thought for a moment, Carlos sometimes has nightmares about the inflictions Cruella used to make, his wounds still not having cleared up, there were scars that tattooed his back with crimson. It gave a whole new meaning to black and white and red all over. Cruella probably dismissed it as her own way of coordinating his fashion sense, and allowing their colour schemes to remain matched. 

Mal gingerly picked up her phone and proceeded to find Carlos’s number on her phone, surprisingly it was one of the most recent contacts. It was 2 places below the four’s group chat and a single place below Ben. Even though it was horrible Mal hoped that Carlos was having trouble sleeping tonight, that way they could lend each other a hand, or at least Carlos could offer Mal a hand and aid in her trouble sleep.

‘Hey Carlos, I’ve been having some difficulty sleeping lately and I was wondering if maybe you could lend me some tips?’ It was a simple message, considering the hour all Mal could do was hope that he would get back to her before she was sleep deprived for school. 

It only took a couple minutes before her phone buzzed. 

‘Hey Mal. Hmm. Let’s see… Jane always tells me that I should jot all my concerns and worries down on a piece of paper so my head isn’t overthinking anymore. She also suggests drizzling some honey into warm milk as that is supposed to ease the stomach.’ 

Mal was thankful, but worried because Carlos had also been having a rough night. She wondered if she should ask, technically it wasn’t her place to bother him, and so she dismissed it for another one of his nightmares. Instead Mal chose to write a simple reply.

‘Thanks Carlos, I’ll see if any of them work out. Also, SWEET MALEFICENT, you are so in love. See you tomorrow!’ 

Mal put her phone on the bedside table and grabbed her notebook from the top drawer. She opened to a random page and began writing down all her thoughts and feelings. If someone as smart as Jane can suggest this as a miracle cure, then it ought to work. Mal even listed all the punishments that could happen if Ben and she aren’t soulmates, and even ordered them from most to least severe. 

Her mind already felt at ease. She returned her notepad back to its designated spot and retuned happily to Evie’s arms. She stroked her hair, kissed her forehead and began to doze peacefully, already aware of her plan for the following day. Step 1, consult her family (the VK’s). Step 2, talk to Ben and step 3, actually read up on this soulmate business.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize how long this was actually getting. Whoops. Do you like the concept? Should I make time go faster or are you happy with the speed of the story. 
> 
> Either way I hope you like reading this chapter :)
> 
> I appreciate all comments and reviews.

Mal woke to the sound of her alarm beeping beside her, she twisted out of Evie’s arm and switched the button to turn it off. She was glad she had at least gotten some, albeit it little, bit of sleep before the long painful day of classes ahead of her. She gently nudged Evie’s side until she opened her eyes and smiled directly at Mal. The pair shared a look and began their usual morning ritual for preparing for school. 

They each brushed their teeth, combed their hair and changed to a different outfit. Satisfied with their appearances they proceeded to meet Carlos and Jay in the cafeteria, for breakfast. As it was a boarding school, or in a more polite front, an on campus academy, almost all meals were provided between specific hours, and luckily for them, it was all part of their ‘scholarship’. Jay and Carlos were already seated at their usual table, munching on toast and eating their cereal. 

Jay was quite happy, he seemed quite energised and continued to happily eat his toast which had been drowned in peanut butter. Beside him sat Carlos who appeared to an exact contrast to Jay’s glee. He looked miserable. There were bags under his eyes and he looked as if he hadn’t slept a wink last night. Mal suddenly felt extremely guilty. If she hadn’t been so wrapped up in her own worries she probably could’ve helped him at least get a fraction of sleep. 

Evie was the first to break the silence.

“Carlos? Are you OK?” She sat across from him and reached out to grab his hand, drawing circles on his knuckles to show him she cared. Mal sat beside her and hoped that Carlos would share his grief. He chose only to gaze at Evie and gave a small smile before returning to glare at his bowl of cereal. The pang of guilt that had rested in Mal’s stomach grew, she wished she could just magic everything away for him, and give him the peace of mind that he clearly deserved. 

Jay grabbed Carlos’s head and put him in a headlock, he ruffled his hair and held him close to his chest. 

“Shape up Carlos! We’ve got tourney practice soon, and we’ll take Dude for a walk later on today, does that sound alright?” Carlos responded with a wider smile, Dude always seemed to make him happy. Jay, who was satisfied with the response returned to his own plate of food and offered both Mal and Evie a slice of toast. Evie declined and instead went to two bowls of fresh fruit, one for herself and the other for Mal. 

“How do you do it Jay? How do you manage to not care about who your soulmate is? It could literally be anyone here and you still manage to make all the girls swoon over you.” Mal figured the best way to vent her troubles was to get straight into finding the solution. Jay glared at her, clearly puzzled by the demands of her question. 

“What do you mean? The girls want what they want, who am I to deprive them of this glory?” He answered whilst gesturing his hands to his body. Mal rolled her eyes. 

“You know what I mean. How do you not care?” She sighed and took a deep breath in. Here goes. “If you haven’t already realised, my birthday is in less than two weeks, and I’m beginning to doubt the certainty of the bond between myself and Ben… and to top it all off, if Ben and I don’t share a bond then our future together is over, and I think our place at the school will be jeopardised and we’ll probably all be returned to the Isle to face our parents once again.” Her shoulders slumped, and she felt defeated. There was seemingly nothing she could do to help them.

Everyone grimaced at the thought of returning back ‘home’, it was clear that none of them felt welcome there anymore. Each of her friends began thinking of explanations to aid her troubles. Carlos mimicked the wheels in his head turning by stirring the remaining cereal in his bowl. Evie had begun to slowly gnaw at the apple she had in her hand whilst Jay had looked at Mal and squinted his eyes. 

“Well Mal. I do care about who my soulmate is.” Jay began. “But unlike you, I’m not in a serious relationship, so I can save both our hearts if we don’t end up being in a relationship.” He nodded and popped that last piece of toast into his mouth and smirked at her. Mal never actually realised how practical that plan is. 

There would have had to have been a million times, at least, of partners breaking up because they weren’t soulmates. So many people who parted because another had held the connection between them. But shouldn’t there be hints along the way when you’re trying to discover who your soulmate is? Mal shuddered at the thought of Gil being her soulmate. Whoever has that misfortune, she wishes them luck. 

“Ben isn’t the type of person who would banish you back there, he’s got a heart M. You know that!” She had finished her bowl of fruit and was eager to go and see Doug before class. “You two will probably just remain friends, and that’s just as good too!” Evie leant towards Mal and circled her arms around her. “Thank you for finally telling us what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours” 

Mal agreed. It would have been so much worse if she had left it until the last minute, probably on a car ride back to the Isle, never to be heard from again. But Evie was right, Ben was more compassionate and caring then how she was currently painting him to be. His program stemmed from preventing Auradon kids from running to their partners on the Isle, so he wouldn’t possibly send them back. This realisation eased her mind. 

“Hey Eve, want me to walk you to Doug’s dorm? I’ve got some spare time before class and I wanna do a couple laps around the oval.” Jay asked Evie. She simply nodded, kissed Mal on the cheek and grabbed Carlos’s hand. She had always been so affectionate. 

“Keep us updated M!” She called as her and Jay headed towards the boys dorms. 

Now it was just her and Carlos. She wanted to thank him, once again, for last night’s help, but she also wanted to make sure he was ok first. He looked ghastly, and the smile that usually adorned his face was nowhere to be seen. 

“Hey thanks for last night.” She said whilst sliding across the seats to be sat across from him. He only looked up in response. “You look awful, are you having nightmares again?” 

He sighed and looked up at her, the bags under his eyes becoming more noticeable. She continued with her questions. “Are they getting worse?”

“Mal. I can’t even begin to explain. I close my eyes and she’s there taunting me. I wake up and the scars that line my back are throbbing. I don’t know what to do. I can’t let my soulmate see that either, I don’t want to show her how callous my mother is. I just want us to leave that horrible place where it is.” Mal agreed, she got up out of her seat and walked over to sit beside Carlos. She leant into his side and offered her comfort. He accepted and slung his arm around her waist. 

“I think I’m going to get ready and go to class” Carlos stood and walked away quite slowly, clearly still exhausted and unprepared for the day. 

Mal hadn’t realised it until now that he didn’t say Jane’s name when he was talking about exposing his soulmate to his dreams. Maybe something else had shifted which made Carlos stressed. She quickly got up and followed him to his room. 

When she arrived, he was already sitting at the edge of his bed with his hands in his hair. Dude was between his legs and was leaning into his shoes, also trying to comfort him. 

“You can be honest with me Carlos. Why didn’t you say Jane’s name?” She said whilst crouching in front of Dude and patting his fur. 

Carlos fell backwards onto his bed and groaned. He too wished that his mind would settle and all his worries would dissipate into thin air. He reached under his bed before pulling out a large brown bound folder. The design on the front was intricately designed. It showed two circles at opposite corners connected by a line. The line flowed in and out between other imprints on the cover, weaving between narrow gaps but ultimately reaching the other circle. Mal traced her finger following the line. 

“This is beautiful” She uttered. “What have you found out?” 

There were tabs on some of the pages, probably what Carlos had thought to be important. He flicked open to the first tab which revealed a page titled ‘Un Monde De Possibilités Infinies’. Beside the tab was a small piece of paper that had read ‘a world of endless possibilities.’ 

“My mother, Cruella, was raised to speak French and so many of the books at home were in French, there were times where she forced me to read them to her and so I’ve picked up on a few things.” Carlos answered her unspoken question. “There’s an English version of the book but it hasn’t been returned to the library, I figured this was the best way to understand this craziness before waiting for the English edition.” 

Mal had to read this book. She practically understood nothing in the book before her, only going off the few scrawls that Carlos had made on a piece of paper. She had to find out who had the English version. She flicked to a few more of Carlos’s tabs, reading out the titles of each page in her head. ‘Two heads are better than one’, ‘Fall – into the arms of your soulmate’ and ‘Happiness awaits the pair’. These were all quite brief and didn’t really aid in any of Mal’s burning questions. 

“Do you remember any other titles or information Carlos? This could really help us out.” He just glared at her in response. Ok, maybe Mal was acting a little desperate, but she wanted to know if there were hints, or triggers to help locate your partner, or even evidence of a lack of a connection. 

He shook his head and conveyed to her that these were the titles that he’d been studying thoroughly. The bell rang signalling that they should get to class. Mal was lucky as she had a free period first, unlike Carlos who had to head off to chemistry. Carlos reached over to grab her shoulder and headed off to class. Mal couldn’t believe that he’d been keeping so much inside of him as well. That was a bit hypocritical since she’d also been worrying about the same problem. He still had ages though, he should be enjoying himself not worrying about what little time he has left with Jane. 

Mal considered completing step 2, but, with the new found information she was better off consulting step 3 and discovering the possessor of that book. Mal felt determined and began her quick journey to the library, but what awaited her was something she could never have expected.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I'm sorry if I'm posting too frequently, I just want to get some stuff done before the Christmas break, because then all my time will be consumed spending it with my lovely family. 
> 
> If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a jolly one, and that you and your family can spend it together. Personally, I live in Australia, so I'm excited to enjoy the sun and the warmth with my family!!
> 
> If you don't celebrate Christmas, well then I hope you are having a wonderful holiday and that you're spending whatever free time you have, having fun. 
> 
> Thank-you once again, and enjoy!

“Audrey?” Mal screeched. “What could you possibly want with a book like that?” Mal had seen it, the intricate front cover of the book she desired, in the hands of the ‘precious princess’ Audrey. Her face scowled. Of all the people to have that book it had to be Audrey, the words that filled Mal’s mind were best to stay there. Audrey’s silence revealed that she didn’t appreciate Mal’s presence.

“I said; how come you’re reading that particular book.” Mal groaned, rephrasing her abrupt question to a more friendly statement. Despite being there for just over a year, Mal still found it quite difficult to understand how to be nice to the ones who make your blood boil. For Mal, Audrey does not deserve her best efforts and would much rather rip her hair out and pin it to her door just to make her suffer that little bit more. 

“Oh. You mean this?” Audrey replied smugly, lifting up the front cover and playing naïve. “I don’t suppose you were after it, were you?” Clearly Audrey wasn’t going to barter with her, and Mal wasn’t ready to give up just yet.  
“Look Audrey.” She sighed. “I know we haven’t gotten along the very best, and I understand that I may have treated you a little undeservingly in the past, but can’t we just push pass that? I mean, wouldn’t it be so much easier if we weren’t at each-other’s throats all the time?” 

“It isn’t going to be that easy Mal.” She replied coldly. “You can’t expect me to fall into your apology that easily. You’re just like your mother; vile, cruel and manipulative.” That hurt. Even coming from Audrey, but she didn’t know that half of it. Maleficent was so much more that a woman of threats, she too was prepared to lash out at her own daughter. It was probably best not to reveal that to someone as influential as Audrey, she somehow managed to have all the girls wrapped around her fingers. 

“Ok. Can I just borrow the book?” Mal’s patience was running thin. 

“No.” Audrey grabbed the book by its binder and stormed out of the library. Mal rushed to chant one of her immobilising spells. 

“Take no more steps forward,  
Take no more steps back,  
Instead this spell is made,  
To stop you in your track” 

Audrey froze in place, having only the ability to move everything from her torso upwards. Mal was appreciative of all the spells she had memorised, in dire situations, they came in handy. She rushed over to Audrey, grabbed hold of the soulmate book and chanted an undoing spell and a forgetting spell. 

With all the activity that had plagued Auradon, practicing of magic, of any sorts was forbidden. Even rules had been implemented to deter young fae’s from training and allowing their powers to grow and mature. Mal thought this to be quite unfair, decades ago, when the Fairy Godmother began her magic adventure there were no rules that prevented her from becoming the powerful Fairy that she is. If there was anything that Mal wanted, it would be to banish the many rules that controlled the school. 

In her haste Mal didn’t realise that she was about to collide with someone. Within seconds the book she clutched so desperately fell to the floor, and the papers of the person she bumped onto scattered onto the floor. She muttered her apologies and searched for her book, not even bothering to look up at the person across from her. 

Amidst the papers she noticed proposals, agreements, and even simple rule legislation documents, all of these belonging to someone of royal duties. 

“Hey.” A male voice broke into the air. She looked up and came face-to-face with the boy who made her heart leap. “I guess I haven’t exactly been the best boyfriend now, have I?” She shushed him with her finger and shook her head gently. 

“I understand Ben.” It was simple, but it was true. Mal had no other explanation, she couldn’t deny him of his royal duties, when… if they were going to get married she would have to be a pillar of support and strength, encouraging him to make the right decisions. She couldn’t back stop now. 

They both began ruffling through the pages, quickly trying to order them as they went along. It was Ben who discovered the book. He examined the front cover and proceeded to open to the first page. Mal had also discovered something she probably shouldn’t have seen, it was an invitation; encouraging all the royals of the UKA to attend an engagement party for King Ben and his fiancée Mal. The date showed a week after her birthday. 

Ben’s eyebrows furrowed as he continued to read Mal’s book. 

“How could you do this to me Mal? Don’t you have any faith in me? In us?” He gripped by its binder and stared at her with a mortified look on his face. Mal felt awful, however rage soon filled her body. She picked up the sheet of paper and looked at him dead in the eye. 

“How could you do this to me? She retaliated. After the torment she had put her mind through she wasn’t going to be forced into something she had no certainty for. It was absurd. “You… I – We don’t even know.” She dropped to the floor and reached for the rest of the loose papers. Ben knelt down beside her and grabbed her hands in his own. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. 

“We can get to that bridge when we get to it.” He paused. “And we can delay the… engagement party until we are sure. I love you Mal. I hope you know that.” It was moments like these that assured Mal and smothered the flames of doubt in her mind, the two were a pair who could balance each other out. His kindness made up for her bluntness, her creativity and spontaneousness balanced his rigidity and routine. 

Ben handed her the book, he grimaced as it left his hand. It was odd why he wasn’t bothered by the soulmate phenomenon, it was such an essential part of the royal legacy. But that was Ben. Another trait that paired their bond. 

The bell rang to signal the end of period 1 and the beginning of period 2. Mal had her first actual class of the day; literature, and this was one of the classes that she had with Evie. Despite Evie’s skillset not being dominant for literature, she still decided to join Mal as it would mean that they weren’t split apart for very long. It was quite difficult to last an entire day without each other, so they each appreciated whatever classes that they shared. 

Everyone had at least one class together. Evie and Carlos both had advanced mathematics together, Carlos and Jay shared physical education, Mal and Jay had history together; simply because he thought it was going to be easy, and the same goes for his subject with Evie, physics. Finally Mal and Carlos both chose psychology, Carlos says it was a way to try and navigate his own mind to overcome his fears and a way to understand his Mother, and why she acted the way she did. 

They all also each had another subject; Evie had chosen Fabrics, Carlos chose Systems, Jay tried Business Management (but didn’t like it that much) whereas Mal opted for legal studies as a way to understand the royal hierarchy and hopefully if she becomes a part of that life, she will be informed and can assist in making the appropriate decisions. To top it all off, they still all have Remedial Goodness together. Fairy Godmother insisted that they keep it; as they already completed two units. This was so instead of picking up another subject halfway though, they could just finish this one. 

Mal had her own scepticisms about Fairy Godmothers intentions, but she did understand where she was coming from. She had always been so nurturing, so if her heart had been it a bad place, it must have only been out of consideration and deliberation. 

Mal headed off towards Literature, and arrived in class only to sit next to Evie. She’d grabbed their usual place in the middle of the classroom. Evie tapped the seat next to her and beamed at Mal as she sat down. 

“Here, take a look at this!” Mal passed the book to Evie who examined the book thoroughly. She followed the indents on the front cover and traced the circles with her finger. She was in awe. Evie then pried open the book and briefly read some of the pages. 

“This is a soulmate book, right? It’s going to help you sort out all your problems M!” Evie practically cheered, clearly she was overjoyed that her best friend was going to be happy once more. After facing a month of miserable Mal, it was safe to say that Evie was ready to see her move on. 

The two began reading the index page together, which read more of the titles of the chapters. Evie grabbed her coloured sticky notes and began cutting them into strips. For all the titles that intrigued the pair she placed a slip into the page where the chapter began. Once they finished bookmarking all the pages, Mal placed the book into her bag and cast a locking spell, just to make sure that she didn’t lose her last hope and research. 

The bell rang once again, the beginning of recess. Evie and Mal walked out of the class room, arms intertwined and headed for their lockers. They each grabbed a few snacks, an apple each and a granola bar and headed towards their usual table. Carlos and Jane were already there, sitting side by side and hands together. They were talking to Doug, who was also there waiting for his beloved to return. Evie happily slid over to sit next to him and linked their arms. 

“We were just wondering, how would you guys feel if we started a petition to get a telescope for the school?” Doug inquired. “I reckon it would be a wonderful addition for the school’s curriculum.” He smiled as he described his intentions. 

“Oh Doug!” Evie chimed. “That’s a wonderful idea, back on the Isle there was so much smog that our view of a clear sky was obscured. I don’t think I’ve ever had the joy of seeing the stars through a telescope” She pressed her head to his shoulder and moved closer to him. He just blushed in return, still wondering how he managed to fall in love with such a beautiful soul. 

Carlos agreed and began to describe how on his first few nights in Auradon, he and Jay would climb up to the roof and marvel at the array of stars. They tried to find constellations, all of which that they had only read about. Jane’s mouth was agape, clearly stunned at how reckless Carlos could have been. Although she also fantasised about how wonderful a date like that would be – on a perfect clear night they would have a picnic beneath the stars, they would watch the sky and dance in the moonlight. They would run into the water hand in hand and kiss underneath the stars. It would be perfect. Jane’s face said it all as the melodic sounds of Carlos’s voice filled her ears. 

Mal simply rolled her eyes at Jane’s awestruck face. She pulled out her pen and notepad and began sketching the seven of them; Jane, Carlos, Evie, Doug, Jay, Herself and Ben. She had left a space next to Jay, to hopefully one day add his partner. 

Mal was broken out of her trance as Jay sat down across from her. He seemed shocked, almost as though he had seen a ghost. His face was pale and his hands were shaking. 

“Jay, what’s up?” Carlos’s voice was laced with concern. No one had ever seen Jay on the brink of collapse, he’d always presented himself as indestructible, skin so impenetrable he felt nothing. 

“I have absolutely no idea, but I think, I think I just shared a day dream with someone.” The five of them all gulped in a little air. It was finally happening. Jay had been 18 for months now, and someday soon it was bound to happen, but none of them expected it to happen like this. 

Mal immediately grabbed the book, and looked up the page ‘Early Signs’, her and Evie had bookmarked it previously. As she delved into the pages, everyone listened to Jay’s encounter.


	5. Chapter 5

Mal ran her finger underlining the words, hoping to find symptoms, or even a simple list of signs. It described hearing whispers or mutterings in each-others minds, it said that some even share daydreams with one another – just like Jay had said. It continued on to an immense list of suggestions about how the two would interact, their heart beats would become synchronised, and the conversations that they had would be effortless, almost predictable because it was almost time that they could communicate telepathically. 

It sounded amazing. Mal continued to search the page for the ‘when’, when these symptoms would start to present themselves. It was very brief; it could range from three months to only a few days. Despite the excitement that surrounded Jay, Mal could only conclude that she hadn’t yet experienced anything like that with Ben. Yes, the ranges were quite brief but what are the chances that she would only get them a few days before she turned 18. 

Mal slid the book over to Jay who examined it carefully. He too flicked through for a few pages afterwards before stumbling across a test page. 

“Hey! Check this out!” He turned the book to face it to everyone on the table “All I gotta do is meditate and see if the whisperings pick up or not.” He then closed his eyes and hummed slightly. His chest rising and falling with his deep breaths. His eyes flew open and his hand rose to his heart.

“It’s almost as if I hear talking. She must be nearby.” Everyone peered at him, still bewildered with the suddenness of these activities. “I can’t seem to pick up on the sound of the voice, it’s familiar, but…” He shook his head. “I have no idea. Hey Mal, can you see if Ben will let you talk to his parents about the whole soulmate thing? Who’s better to talk to than someone who has already experienced it?” 

As if right on cue, Ben approached the table, finishing the usual gang, and sat next to Mal. Mal just glared at Jay, her eyebrows raised, as if to tell him to do his own dirty work. 

“So Bennie Boy” Jay slid his arm onto the table and raised his hand to his chin. “What do you think about giving me some of the birth files of all the Auradon girls? Yours truly may be getting his match sooner than he thinks.” 

Ben just shook his head and laughed, some of the crumbs from his crackers and camembert cheese flying out. Jay’s smile soon dulled. “You should give it a shot Mal, see if Ben really is the one.” Jay continued. 

Mal agreed, what more could she do than give it a shot - It was her best hope after all. She of course was going to continue researching and finding out what she could. The titles still intrigued her, even if this was all the confirmation she needed. 

She relaxed her body and mimicked Jay, she took a deep breath in and straightened her back. After all the time she spent drawing, it was inevitable that she’d develop a slouch, it was also inevitable considering her upbringing. After rolling her shoulders back once more, she exhaled. 

All Mal could hear was yelling, it was too loud for her to even begin to detect a voice. Mal’s eyes shot open and her arms reached out to hug Ben. He gratefully accepted her affection and snuggled into her side. Carlos, who was also beside her, raised a hand and grabbed her shoulder in glee. 

“It was like someone was yelling my name from the rooftops! It boomed, and if Jay’s experience is anything to go by then the noise level must indicate the proximity of the match” With Ben by her side, she couldn’t be happier. This was the guarantee - the sign, it was as if all her troubles had melted at that very moment. She couldn’t wait until her 18th birthday. 

-

Class for the rest of the day travelled slowly, Mal attended her other four classes and let her happiness radiate. She smiled with her friends, she shared smiles with her teachers, she even smiled at Audrey, who scowled and turned to walk in the opposite direction. It didn’t even phase Mal, she felt euphoric and untouchable like nothing in the world could strip her of her joy. 

Ben had felt the same, he held hands with Mal contently, and chose to even spend the day away from duties to relish Mal’s happiness. They had a blissful evening, sharing the finest of spaghetti’s and basking under the moonlight. He walked her back to her dorm and kissed her lightly on the cheek. 

She grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to her, raising her hands to his cheeks, she pulled him down and gently pressed her lips to his. It was sweet and chaste. Ben’s arms encircled her waist and rested there. It was a moment that neither of them wanted to end. These were the brief moments that they actually got to spend together, away from the desperate journalists and the media. It was where both of them felt complete. 

“I can’t wait.” Ben began. “I can’t wait to hear you in my head, to hear your thoughts, keep you informed and to even help you solve all your little concerns and doubts. I can’t wait to share our dreams.” A smile bloomed onto his face, shiny white teeth on display. Mal was in awe. Despite the demands of school and work, her boyfriend still managed to make her feel like the only girl in the world. 

“Imagine it Mal – flying high through the clouds, ice skating in Arendelle, swimming in the lagoon or scuba diving in the ocean.” He paused and laughed at his own imaginations “I know they’re wild, but with you, it feels like I can take on the world” He leaned down for another kiss only to be met halfway by Mal. His dreams could one day become a reality, and hopefully soon. 

After Ben said his goodnights and retreated back to his room, Mal opened the book. The tabs called for her to open them, the images crying out to be examined, she was enthralled. She eagerly flipped open to the second bookmark to a chapter called ‘Thunder’. What she read shocked her – It described the history of heartbreak.

_‘The connection between hearts is strong. For those who mistaken the connection; the chemistry is much weaker. It is easy to fall into this trap, of heartbreak and sorrow. It is easy to mistaken compatibility._

_Catriel, a young lady destined for greatness; with golden hair that hung to her hips and with skin that glowed just as bright as the sun. She day dreamed about exploration, picnics in the meadow, all alongside her beau Harlow. With only a year between them it seemed natural, always conversing, always traveling. Never a day went by without seeing each other. While Catriel read, Harlow would pick flowers, he insisted that they were for her ever growing library. For every flower, he picked two just to remind himself of her beauty._

_It was a dream. Until it became a nightmare._

_Harlow was the first to hear the voice, a voice that called him – a voice by the name of Adeline. She too resided in the small village and the two were wed almost instantly. The daily call ins soon became weekly visits and with every day that passed Catriel’s once pure heart turned dark._

_The pressed flowers in her books were discarded, just like the smile that used to adorn her face. The glee that directed her through life soon faded into despair. She was lost amidst her darkest storm. It wasn’t until Adeline fell pregnant that Catriel saw the darkest of days._

_It was a painful journey to the river, tears stained her face as the storm above brewed and the river rapids grew stronger. With each wave that crashed Catriel’s heart grew heavier, the lump in her throat grew thicker. The hope that she once had, vanished. She took one look at the torrents and jumped…’_

Mal was almost in tears, the sheer horror of having someone ripped from her life like that, she felt Catriel’s heartache and pain. She closed the book and placed it beneath her bed; that was enough reading for tonight, besides, she already had clarification that Ben was a potential match for her heart. The deafening sounds of the voice in her head that happened when he sat next to her seemed almost like destiny. She brought her head down to her pillow and smiled, soon she could pride herself with the knowledge that herself and Ben were written in the stars.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for waiting so long! You know how it is with work, public holidays and what not! Also, I've written other parts of the story (future parts) and that is probably why I've taken so long as well. Nonetheless I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I hope that you have had a Happy New Year!!

With two days to go until Mal turned eighteen, Evie took it upon herself to plan the greatest birthday party ever. Mal, of course, was her best friend, and turning eighteen was a milestone and that meant that Evie had to make it spectacular. She would have to make the whole room purple and green or at least decorate with purple and green colours. She would need to organise a gift and worst of all, get Mal to actually come to her own birthday party. 

Mal had never been one to actually enjoy birthday parties, she would attend them however it was a rare occurrence for her to actually have fun. She always claimed that there were too many people, the music wasn’t good enough or she was feeling sick. At least she was there, Evie would have to remind herself. But this year was different, this year Evie was going to make sure that Mal enjoyed her birthday. 

Evie set to making the plans, Doug had even offered to help her. They had both created a party list, which was fairly short considering the party was going to be held in Carlos’s and Jay’s room. It consisted of the Core Four, Doug, Jane, Lonnie and Ben. They had also made the invitations, which demanded that people meet at the room at 11pm sharp for tomorrow night. This was so then everyone could see Mal and Ben’s first moments together, Evie’s was a while a way so she wanted to see how it felt when the one you loved is the one. 

She also hoped that Doug was the one; but unlike Mal she tried not to let her doubt consume her, but instead, she wanted to enjoy what moments she did have with Doug. He was so much more than what her mother had said a boy was supposed to be. She painted them as masterpieces, someone who you should serve and admire no matter how awfully they treated you. She had always insisted that a woman was nothing if she didn’t have a man. 

But then there was Doug. Sweet, caring gentle Doug who seemed to have all the time in the world for her. He was encouraging, he was motivated but most importantly he treated her like she mattered. He didn’t objectify her or use her unbridled affection as a means to manipulate her – He used it as a sign to see that she cared and was as much a part of the relationship as she was. The little touches, hugs and gentle kisses were just little reminders for both halves that they felt the same way. 

With her checklist in hand, Evie made her way to Doug’s dorm, it was a Saturday which means that they were not required to be in class, the only thing people had to do was attend practices for their extra curricula activities. Luckily for Evie, neither she nor Doug had to be anywhere, so off to the local shops it was.

Doug had planned the whole thing; they would ride their bikes to the local shopping centre and get almost all of their shopping done before lunch. He would then treat Evie to a lovely quiet lunch in the nearby park where they would then finish the last of their shopping. To complete the day they would buy gelati; Evie of course would get her favourite flavour apple pie and Doug would get his – violet crumble with popping candy sprinkled on top. He insists that it reminds him of his dad’s mining days, with the rocks being the gemstones of course. If everything ran smoothly they would then return home and rest before actually setting up the party the following day. Goodness, what a very hectic time it would be.

The day had flowed just as Doug had planned, Evie was content holding his hand and strolling the shops. They had walked into many party supply shops and purchased green and purple balloons, some green and purple streamers and they even bought cups and plates except instead these ones were black. It was quite the list of items that they needed, thankfully there wasn’t too many of them actually attending the party or else the few supplies that they bought could have left the pair of them struggling to carry everything back home. 

They had finally finished buying the necessities and only had Mal’s gift left. Doug had decided that now would be the perfect time to have lunch and relax before the difficult task ahead of them. They both ordered some chips from one of the cafes and shared them in the grass just outside the shopping centre. 

“Hey Evie, what do you reckon would happen to us if we aren’t soulmates?” Doug asked with a chip raised to his mouth. He was perplexed. 

“Aww Dougie.” Evie extended a hand and let it rest on top of his “Personally, I don’t think we should allow ourselves to get wrapped up in that pain, it only leads to trouble. I think we should care more about the time we have now, with each other, not the times that could have been.” She answered promptly, a soft smile to calm his nerves.

Doug beamed at her, she always managed to have a greater understanding, as if she was above the worries and concerns that almost everyone else experienced. She was so strong and he absolutely adored her. He was probably the luckiest man alive. 

They had returned to the shop and began searching for what to get Mal. There were the typical suggestions, brushes, markers, a new set of colouring pencils, Doug’s random suggestion of buying a new cage for her mum. But unfortunately nothing was standing out as the perfect present, nothing screamed ‘BUY ME’. Evie had considered make-up, clothes and even fabrics so she could make a dress but there wasn’t enough time her birthday party was tomorrow night. 

“Doug, this is hopeless.” Evie sighed. “We’re never going to find a gift, Carlos and Jane have made her a present. Jay has booked a treetop climb for the four of us and now we need to find the perfect thing to sum up what she means to me.” She felt defeated. How is one supposed to show what eighteen years of friendship means with a single gift, technically it was from her and Doug but Mal was her best friend it’s not as if Doug would be the one in charge of the present. 

They had decided to leave, and were both headed out of the store Doug toppled over in front of a bookstore. 

“Doug!” Evie cried in delight. She helped him up quickly and soon rushed into the bookstore. “I know just what we can get her!” 

She had stopped in the soulmate book aisle, and was scouring for several different titles. It didn’t take her long before she had three books, each of them about either the history of magic or soulmates. She would love them, and with her new found obsession with research Evie was certain that they’d stay with her forever.

They bought the books and headed home stopping to get gelati on the way. It had been a long day and they were both thrilled to finally have a rest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I'm sorry I never seem to post consistently, it's just that I work, I'm currently trying to find a new job and well, there's all my social endeavours and the fact that I'm still looking to start university. Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think down below!

“Ok Jay, I’m going to have to get you and Ben to keep Mal occupied for the day” Evie began. “Carlos and I will start preparing the room!” She had already brought all the supplies over and wanted to begin preparing for the upcoming party. She couldn’t contain her glee, there was a skip to her step and a smile permanently etched onto her face. 

Both Carlos and Jay nodded, as they understood the importance of Evie’s orders. They too wanted to surprise Mal, and after her few past months - which have been both emotionally draining and rather chaotic, they thought she needed this one night to actually enjoy herself. 

“So I’ll stay here and help sort out the room with Carlos, and if we need even more help I know Doug wouldn’t mind” She continued. It was still quite early in the morning, Evie had assured them that if they get everything done by this afternoon then they would have time to rest before the party began. 

There was one other problem though, the music couldn’t begin until Mal had put a spell on the room that would make the walls sound proof. They could only imagine the trouble they would find themselves in if they had heard them partying. The school itself had many strict rules, but considering four of them were from the Isle, and one of them had magical potential they all knew that they could get away with it. 

It was time to branch off, Jay had already headed off, probably getting some breakfast before he distracted Mal for the day. That left Carlos and Evie to begin setting up their room. And what an effort that was. They had to move the beds around just to make enough room to fit a dance floor, they resorted to making a bunk bed and placing Carlos’s on top of Jay’s. 

“Why did we let Jay leave so early?” Evie complained. She was right though, they chose the two people with the smallest frames to fix up the room, instead of letting Jay stay help. Carlos laughed at her exhaustion and they both slumped themselves against the wall to relax.

“Is Ben alright with this?” Carlos asked whilst fiddling with one of the rings on his pants. 

“I think so. But why wouldn’t he be?” Evie looked at him in confusion. 

“I don’t know, maybe because at midnight they’ll find out if they’re one another’s soulmates, and if they aren’t everyone here would find out about it.” He answered. Evie only looked to the floor, clearly concerned for her best friend in the event that it didn’t work out the way she wanted. 

“Look, we can only try and hopefully they are, right? That way this night will be fantastic.” She brushed off the non-existent dust off her skirt and began creating a table. Carlos only smirked, knowing her determination wasn’t going to be deterred. 

He was also pretty excited for tonight, he couldn’t wait to give her his gift. Technically it was from him and Jane but he had bought all the materials and made it himself whilst Jane read in his room. It was like a pen and paintbrush combined, you could swap the head for either a pen or the paintbrush, but that wasn’t all. On the other end was a laser beam light that could pick up the colour of whatever object you scanned and would then be used as the ink for the pen or the paint for the brush. He had even taken the time to place wood around it and engraved her initials M.B.F into the wooding to make it a bit more personal. 

-

Jay had just finished breakfast with Ben when they approached Mal’s room. They were going to take her to her the local botanical gardens so she could sketch some flowers. Originally it was just going to be Mal and Ben, but Jay was going now as well, to ensure that they left and arrived back at reasonable times. It was also so then Evie had an eye on Mal because Ben isn’t very good at getting back to people on his down time.

As a Prince / King Ben didn’t really get much time to himself or to do what he likes, so he relishes the time he has alone and tends to ignore phone calls and text messages; including Evie considering she was his Royal Advisor. It wasn’t as if he purposely avoided her text messages, it was just that she messaged him more frequently for work than as a friend. 

Jay couldn’t understand how Mal did it, not being a top priority in Ben’s life. She was in his top five, but according to Jay, definitely not the top three. He had figured that his duty to the country was probably forced onto him and therefore number one on his list, he figured family was his second priority and school being the third. He reckoned that Tourney would be next followed by Mal. It was horrible of him to have thought this, but at times it was obvious, Ben loved Mal, that was clear but there had been numerous occasions where Ben would choose work over Mal, even doing homework alongside Mal. He even invited Mal to every one of his games. 

Jay would never let anyone know that he thought this, not even Carlos. No one wanted to hear they were second best, and considering Ben’s position in the royal hierarchy, it was obvious why he chose those other preferences. But he was glad he was here with them today, he could finally understand why Mal enjoyed being with him. 

It was true, they complimented each other. He would throw his arm around her and they would sit comfortably together in the grass. He could see how happy it made Mal, she would beam in his grasp and smile idly. When she began drawing pictures of some of the flora, Ben approached Jay. 

“Do you reckon she has any idea what’s going on?” Ben chuckled. “I certainly hope not, I can’t wait to see how excited she’ll be!” 

“What did you end up getting for her? She can be quite hard to buy for.” He only knew this because after years of struggling to get great gifts, he never got the reaction he was hoping for. Ben smiled at the question, clearly quite proud of his gift idea.

“OK! So I bought Mal a dragon stone. It’s even purple with a green strike through it, I thought it would be the perfect present!” He paused for a moment, clearly quite elated. “I was told that it’s supposed to increase magical potential, and well, considering last time she turned into a dragon she almost collapsed from exhaustion. I figured this would boost her endurance!” 

Clearly he had put a lot of time into finding the perfect gift, and Jay couldn’t even imagine the price of a real dragon stone. He soon dismissed his thoughts and focused solely on Tourney talk, and the place that the core four had decided to travel to. He described it as a majestic wasteland, it provided beauty and grace to one of the emptiest areas. He had stumbled across it whilst reading some of the pamphlets he had stolen way back at the museum. 

It would be a great way for the four of them to stay close, and make sure they’re all OK. Jay had found that he and Carlos had sort of drifted from Mal and Evie. They were all still close, and he appreciated that, but with all their boyfriends and girlfriends and the business in between it was hard to cement their strong friendship. It was even harder for Jay considering he was the only one not in a relationship, although he would never admit how much this hurt him. 

Both Ben and Jay returned to Mal, who had almost finished her sketches; there were pictures of almost all of the flowers, she had even grabbed a few petals so she could remember the colours for when she returned home. Ben had pulled out his signature picnic basket and began serving the food. It was one of his favourites, a cherry pie. He had spread out the knives and forks and placed one slice in front of each of them. 

“Who do you hope it is?” Ben muffled out in between his bites of cherry pie. 

Jay stopped eating. He had never really thought about that before, he had never envisioned a future for himself where he was with someone, and they were with him. He had always imagined returning home, to his bed, or living with Evie, Mal and Carlos for the rest of his life, he never thought he would need somebody else. Ben was still looking at him for an answer. 

“Uh. Look Ben, I don’t really mind who I’m paired with, and finally having someone, someone to actually care for would be nice.” Jay’s head drooped down to look at his pie, when he thought about it, it would be great to have feelings for just one person instead of getting pampered by all the ladies. Don’t get him wrong, he loved the attention, but just once, it would be nice to have one person just for himself. 

Ben seemed dissatisfied with the answer he got. He huffed and then chewed another fragment from his own piece. It was at this moment that Jay’s phone buzzed, it was a text from Carlos.   
Hey! Just wanted to let you know we’re done setting up, we just need to wait. Can’t though bro, I’m too excited. 

Jay chuckled and put his phone away, only to be met with the curious eyes of Ben and Mal. 

“Who are you messaging? Your secret girlfriend?” Ben had asked, clearly interested in the mysteries of Jay’s life. That was fair considering Ben wasn’t really all too bothered by Mal’s friends, he never really asked about their lives, probably because he was worried he’d upset them about their past. It was nice to see that Ben actually cared about them, and not just Mal. 

Jay just brushed them off, and threw a dollop of whipped cream at both Ben and Mal. 

“Jay! What the hell!” Mal had shrieked before grabbing Ben’s hand, standing up and chasing Jay. He only laughed at their poor attempts of trying to capture him. He ran into the river and stood there with his arms crossed, waiting for the two of them to catch up. 

Ben sprinted towards him and pushed him into the water, they were both in fits of laughter. When Mal had approached, she stood awkwardly on the edge, still disappointed by the fact that she couldn’t swim. She resulted in just watching the two of them fight, laughing on occasion and cheering whoever was in the lead at that time. 

“What do you say we all head home soon, maybe if you wanted Mal you could get a couple more drawings.” Jay had said once he and Ben had exhausted themselves. He was still wary of the time, he needed them to stay just a bit longer just so then all the finishing touches could be made to the room. It was only 2:30, so they had plenty of time here and to get changed before the party began.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry once again for the wait. And sorry the chapters are so short. 
> 
> Either way, I hope you like this chapter! I find it hard to convey emotions sometimes so let me know if you think I've done an adequate job!

They arrived home not too soon before 6-O’Clock, Jay had made sure that they left the park around five to ensure that they all had enough time to have a shower, or even finish a task before the party began. He had informed ben to pick Mal up around six twenty and bring her to his room. Ben had nodded in response, he was also keen for the party. 

Jay found it funny how Ben was prepared to break the rules, he was the next in line for the throne, and yet here he was prepared to suffer the consequences if they were found. He thought the same for Jane, her mother, the headmistress of the school could easily expel her for Jane’s irresponsible behaviour. Maybe there were many parallels between the Isle and Auradon, maybe those who are good have a dark side. 

Mal had showered and stayed in her room expecting to not hear from anyone except Evie until tomorrow. It wasn’t until Ben returned to see her at 6:30 that she got suspicious. He had rapped on the door, extended his arm and lead her to Jay and Carlos’s room. He pushed open the door gently to reveal all her closest friends cheering ‘surprise’. 

Mal was amazed, the room looked amazing, clad with all her favourite colours, from purple, green and black to the silver lights the adorned the ceiling. She was awestruck. She could only assume that Evie had orchestrated the entirety of the party. All of the people she cared about were there, her best friends; Evie, Carlos and Jay, and her boyfriend had even made it. She felt giddy, there were so many people; even Lonnie, Doug and Jane had taken the time to celebrate her birthday. 

She raised her hand to her mouth and concealed a smile. These people were all so lovely, they were all here to share the day she turned eighteen. It dawned on her that they even risked getting detention just to celebrate her birthday. She felt speechless and extended her arms to give a massive group hug. Everyone followed suit and ran towards her engulfing her in a warm embrace. 

“Before we start M, there’s just one thing we need you to do.” Evie began. “Can you please spell the room so the headmistress doesn’t find us?” Her hands came together, she was practically pleading for Mal to seal the room sounds just so then the party could begin. 

Mal took a breath and began, yet again, a forbidden spell on campus. 

_To all other people,_  
Who are sound asleep,  
Contain all noise,  
And don’t make a peep __

__“Let’s get this party started!” Jay called from the other side of the room, his fist pumping in the air with excitement. With that, everyone else hit the dance floor and began breaking out some of their own stylish moves. There was some retro dances from Ben including the typical disco dances. His pathetic dances made Mal laugh, but she joined in and mimicked his moves._ _

__He soon pulled her away towards the pile of gifts that resided in the corner. He carefully picked up a small gift bag, in her signature purple colour and handed it to her with a large smile imprinted on his face. Mal had only assumed that he couldn’t wait to give her a gift._ _

__“This is from me to you Mal, I think you’ll really like it.” He continued to usher the gift to her in the hopes to convince her to open it sooner. She smiled at his eagerness and delicately placed her hand inside the bag. Her fingers grazed something soft, she spread her fingers and pulled out a small purple, velvet bag bound shut with a lime drawstring. She had smirked at the colour combination, clearly he had gone to the effort to find something just for her. She was touched by his gesture and continued to open the bag once she noticed his eyes beaming at her._ _

__“It’s going to assist you in some way, apparently it has the ability to improve magical potential” Ben had raised his hand to cup Mal’s cheek. “It’s something perfect for you.” His other hand had worked its way up to nestle in her hair._ _

__She pulled out a piece of string, it was a necklace and attached to it was a stone. It matched the detailing of the bag, her signature colour scheme; deep purple with the additions of lime green. She was stunned, the intricate design made the stone look so powerful, and she could already feel her own abilities surging when she held the stone, she felt stronger, faster and much more energised than before._ _

__She smiled and pulled Ben in for a kiss, he gratefully accepted, fisting his hand to hold a handful of her hair. He then took the necklace and tied it around her wrist, once he had finished he took Mal’s hand in his and lead her once again towards the dance floor, he couldn’t be any happier._ _

__-_ _

__The party went on as any other party would have. They danced, they ate delicious sweets, Evie even gave a heartfelt speech. They danced more and ate more. It was one of the greatest days Mal had ever experienced. Jane left a little early so her mother wouldn’t get suspicious, much to Carlos’s disappointment, but everyone else had a wonderful time. Lonnie and Jay danced together and once Jane had left, Carlos joined them._ _

__It wasn’t until Evie suggested that they had a slow dance that Mal realised how late it was. With Carlos managing the music the melodic voice of Elton John soon began to fill the air with the timeless classic of ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’. Mal smiled at the sentiment. Ben offered her his hand which she took gently before allowing herself to curtsy. He bowed in response and pulled her in towards his chest, placing one hand on the small of her back and the in her hand._ _

__The slow music eventually stopped and Ben had grabbed Mal’s hand to pull her outside. She was confused, Ben wasn’t usually the type of person to take the birthday girl away from her own party; still she complied and followed him only to have him close the door from everyone still dancing._ _

__“Ben, what’s wrong?” Mal asked softly, still bewildered by his odd behaviour. He brushed a single ringlet of hair away from her eyes and gently placed his arms around her shoulders, his eyes threatening to spill tears. She could hear his heart thrumming against his chest and she could feel the softness of his kisses to her hair. She could only wonder why Ben was getting so emotional; it was a party and parties were made for people to let loose and enjoy themselves._ _

__He hushed her, and held her tighter._ _

__“My mother always told me that the lives of her generation weren’t just retold to enforce morals onto us and model our behaviour, they weren’t just lessons. She tells me that they are told to demonstrate the strength of our will and their motivations, a way of telling me – all of us not to give up or lose hope.” By this stage, Ben’s voice had faded to a whisper and his hand was running down her waves in a soothing motion._ _

__Mal was still speechless, what had brought on this odd behaviour, the night was still young and yes, school was on tomorrow but it’s not as if they’d party much later than one._ _

__“Mal, I love you and I’m sorry.” He took a step backwards and began wiping away the few tears that had escaped his control with his sleeve._ _

__“But Ben!” That was all Mal managed to get out before her face was illuminated with his phone. His background was a picture of the two of them at the Cotillion, completely soaked from head to toe and the largest smiles on their faces. The time showed 12:05pm and it had dawned on her that not a single voice had entered her head._ _

__“But Ben I still love you… I still want you” Her hands had gripped the folds of his shirt as she wept into his chest. “You can’t let this get in the way” Her voice was shaky and her vision was blurry from her endless flow of tears._ _

__“Mal, we’re not meant to be together. As much as we want that to be true, it just isn’t. We can still be friends.” He pretty much demanded, and Mal could understand why, he was a royal figure and he must meet the certain standards for his citizens. But it still stung, the reality of their break up becoming concrete in her heart._ _

__Mal slumped herself against the wall and continued to cry into her hands. How could he be so selfish? He was still standing in front of her, too stunned to comfort her anymore. She took off the necklace that symbolised their entire year together and handed it to him. Tears still stained her eyes and her mouth was fixed into a permanent pout. She glanced at his face one last time to see the same sullen expression printed there. She cupped his cheek one last time before padding her way back to her own room._ _

__Tomorrow was going to be a long day._ _


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well hey there! 
> 
> I am SO SORRY for making you all wait so long for another chapter, but I have a good excuse! 
> 
> My laptop had to get reimaged and so I didn't have my laptop for a couple days and unbeknown to me, when your laptop gets reimaged EVERYTHING on your computer is wiped. So guess who lost word for a couple of weeks? 
> 
> Well I'm back now and on a lighter note I hope you like this chapter.

It was almost instantaneous; the rumours, the gossip and the doubt. People were starting the wildest of lies and rumours ‘Mal had Ben spelled the entire time’, ‘They were only together to bring back Villains’, ‘Ben never loved her’. The last one probably stung her the most. The fact that people had just assumed he pitied her, and she fell for his act. It was such classic love story; broken girl falls for perfect boy – only to have her heart shattered into a million pieces. 

Evie had left her there that morning, she had been with her the night before watching Mal sob helplessly into her pillows. Evie had tried to comfort her, rubbing circles into her back and swaying gently from side to side. She even tried to soothe her by humming simple melodies. Evie’s attempts were to no avail, Mal still felt crushed and distraught, as if no one could compare to what she had. Ben had been her everything, the one person other than her friends that didn’t have it out for her. She could trust him with anything, from her worries about leaving the Isle to her very own hopes and dreams for the future. Even though Mal wouldn’t like to admit it, the comfort of being welcomed into a loving family spoke to her. 

Mal had also decided that she wasn’t going to attend school, they didn’t deserve to see her broken, nor did she need their pity. She resorted to casting a temporary illness spell, to retrieve a doctors certificate to legitimise her absence, and an excuse to avoid Ben for the time being. She knew she would have to eventually ‘get over him’, but how is she expected to do so in such a short time frame. 

It loomed on her that sometime soon, Ben might find his soulmate. That heart-breaking revelation sent her into even more tears. She could feel her own heart sink at the thought of him kissing another girls hand, or introducing her to his parents, even imagining her sitting next to him at lunch was like a punch to the stomach. That had been her life just yesterday, only for it to be snatched from her grasp and given to someone else. 

She had to know more. She had to consult the book. She needed an answer as to why they weren’t good for each other. Everyone knew they were a match designed by Folklore himself; they were two halves of the same whole; a representation of Good and Evil, the passionate and the determined, the creative and the rigid. Who could possibly possess more qualities that compared to Ben, her Ben? She couldn’t rest her racing mind. 

She picked up her trusty consultant and flipped through the pages. What was she looking for? She came across titles like separation, binding, fleeing. Nothing was jumping out at her. Nothing answered her burning question of why. Why were they not destined by the stars? Why didn’t they have their happily ever after? Why was everyone else so pleased with the fact that they were no longer together? 

It was ironic. Her previous burning questions which begged for the answers of are they or aren’t they have now been replaced with why weren’t they. Her greatest nightmare was confirmed, Ben wasn’t her soulmate. The man that she had put so much love and devotion towards was now supposed to be eradicated from her heart because she was WRONG. Wrong about how she felt, wrong about their personalities and wrong about their fate. 

She had received texts from everyone that morning. Ben, Jay, Carlos and even Jane messaged her, clearly everyone wanted to know what happened. 

Her message from Jane read:

_Hi Mal! Sorry I couldn’t say good bye after your party, I had a great time! Hope you like the gift Carlos and I got you!_

Simple, and to the point, she didn’t seem bothered about her dispute with Ben. She then clicked Jay’s name on her phone. 

_Hey Mal, heard about what happened. Don’t let it get you down, OK? We’ve all been through way too much to let something so small affect your life. Look at where we came from, we’re so much better off here! Give yourself some time and things WILL get better._

She smiled at his determination to get through to her, and he clearly knew what would affect her. The thought of being transferred back to the Isle scared the living daylights out of her. The prospect of being stripped of her current privileges, of not just her but her friends as well, made everything seem a lot worse than her current circumstance. 

She then went on to read Carlos’s message, thinking it would be similar to Jay’s. 

_Heya Mal. Look, I don’t want to make you feel worse than what you’re probably feeling, but I’m going to say it any way. You DO NOT need Ben to make you happy. I know you may have devoted your time to him but you are so much more than just Ben’s girlfriend. You’re MAL! THE MAL! The girl who’s good and kind, talented and determined to live life to its fullest potential!! I know I’m not quite Evie either, but if you ever need to talk, I’ll be there in a heartbeat._

Wow. Was all Mal could think. He’s right. She’d been so preoccupied with the thoughts that Ben was what made her Good and choose well moral behaviour instead of Evil. She didn’t need Ben to keep it there. She just needed him to coax it out of her and help her realise what her true colours are, these colours of which, are the exact opposite of her callous mother. 

She also had a text from Ben, it hurt to see his name, she couldn’t bring herself to open it. She instead threw her phone onto Evie’s bed and curled up into her own duvet and pillows. Carlos, Evie and Jay were right. She needed time to process everything and establish her hurt, rage and sadness associated with their break up. It was yesterday. She couldn’t possibly expect to be over him in less than a day could she? 

Mal made the conscious effort to instead of weep over the loss of new memories they could make, she would reflect fondly on all the great times that they have had, even all the times in Auradon that she has shared with her friends. The four of them have made this entire experience wonderful, and she couldn’t imagine spending it with anyone else. 

Her eyes crinkled at the sides as she thought of all the wonderful things that have happened to each of them. Evie was one step closer to producing her own fashion line and was pursuing her passion with strides. Then there was Jay, he finally found a way to safely vent his frustrations through sports instead of attacking anyone and everyone he saw. And Carlos, not only did he have the freedom to indulge in his creativity and experiment with technology but he had also escaped the depths of his insecurities. She could see that he no longer felt worthless or enslaved to the adults, but he thrived on making everyone else around him happy. 

Even though Mal couldn’t really bear the thought to hear Ben’s name, she already felt a little bit happier in terms of her time in Auradon. She hadn’t even considered her own evolution. She had matured just as much as the others. She consciously chose to stop following the path of her mother’s Evil legacy and didn’t follow through with the plans that they had agreed on. She also had the time to be creative and has improved immensely after studying art. These were her dreams that were made possible all because she was here. 

Mal stayed in bed and continued to prevent any thoughts of Ben enter her mind. Getting over him was going to be hard. Seeing him with another girl, most likely his soulmate, the girl who was going to replace Mal herself was going to be torture. But Mal didn’t let those thoughts consume her, instead she pictured the four of them, the ones she would call family, she could see them all living life with no fear. 

She could picture them all going camping together once the school semester was over, waking up in the morning to just bask in the warmth of the sun, carefree. She imagined them all achieving their dreams, she could even see Evie walking down the runway showcasing her own designs. She could imagine Carlos standing in front of millions of people demonstrating how his app works or his new innovative piece of self-made technology. She could hear Jay’s name being called over a speaker announcing he won the most valuable player of the winning championship team. She could even see herself cutting the ribbon of her self-purchased art museum complete with works from the icons through history and a private room filled with her own. 

She would call it Heart Strings. 

Then there was the new thrill of meeting her own soulmate. She would introduce him to all of them, even Doug and Jane and whoever Jay’s mystery girl is. The eight of them could explore the world together, maybe he could even teach her how to swim. 

Life was a waltz into the unknown who could guess what her future holds. 

She curled up further into a ball and prayed to Maleficent that she dreamt of happiness and good fortune. She soon felt weightless as she drifted off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading my story, feel free to write down some ideas that I should incorporate or maybe some little facts that I may have forgotten. 
> 
> I appreciate all of you for taking the time and reading!!


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